The 2023 Bavarian state election was held on 8 October 2023 to elect the members of the 19th Landtag of Bavaria. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) and the Free Voters of Bavaria (FW) led by Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Söder. The 2023 Hessian state election was held on same day.
The CSU remained the largest party with only a slight decline to 37%. The Free Voters improved to second place with 16%, their best result to date. The opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) was a close third on 15%. The Greens declined to 14%, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at a historic low of 8%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell to 3% and lost their seats.
Overall, the incumbent coalition increased its majority thanks to the Free Voters' gains. The result, amidst a campaign dominated by federal issues such as immigration, was perceived as a blow for the federal government, with its three member parties – the SPD, Greens, and FDP – all suffering losses. The results also indicated the increasing popularity of the far-right AfD, which in previous months had moved into second place in federal opinion polling.
Election organisation
Election date and preparation deadlines According to the Bavarian Constitution, the election must be held on a Sunday "at the earliest 59 months, at the latest 62 months" after the preceding state electionArtikel 16 (1) Satz 3 Bayerische Verfassung unless the Landtag is dissolved early, in this case the new election shall be held at the latest on the sixth Sunday after the dissolution. The preceding state election took place on 14 October 2018. This would allow an election date between 17 September and 10 December 2023. The elections since 1978 have always taken place between mid-September and mid-October. The Bavarian state government proposed 8 October 2023 as the election date on 15 November 2022Süddeutsche Zeitung: Bayern soll am 8. Oktober wählen and officially set it on 13 December 2022 after hearing the parties to the state parliament.Petr Jerabek: Termin steht: Bayerische Landtagswahl am 8. Oktober 2023, BR24 am 13. Dezember 2022 At the same day elections of the Bezirktags, two District Administrators and some Mayors take place.
The deadline for determining the population figures, which are decisive for the distribution of the 180 Landtag mandates among the seven Bavarian administrative districts and possible changes of the electoral districts, was 14 July 2021 (33 months after the election of the previous Landtag).Artikel 21 (1) Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz On this basis, the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior had to submit a constituency report to the Landtag until 36 months after the election.Artikel 5 (5) Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz This was done on 12 October 2021.
Delegates to the internal meetings of the parties can be appointed at the earliest 43 months after the preceding election, i.e. 15 May 2022. The actual district candidates are eligible at the earliest 46 months after the preceding election, i.e. 15 August 2022.Landtagswahl 2023: Fristen für die Aufstellung der BewerberArtikel 28 (2) Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz The parties and other organised electoral groups which have not been represented continuously in the Bavarian Landtag or in the German Bundestag since their last election on the basis of their own election proposals (CDU, CSU, SPD, Free Voters of Bavaria, Alliance 90/The Greens, FDP, Die Linke, AfD) have to notify their intention to participate to the State Election Commissioner by the 90th day before the election.Artikel 24 Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz The actual election proposals and any necessary signatures have to be submitted by the 73rd day before the election.Artikel 26 Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz
Electoral system
The Landtag is elected using mixed-member proportional representation. Every voter has two votes, one for a candidate in their local constituency and one for a candidate in their regional district.Artikel 36 Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz Both votes are taken into account in the allocation of seats according to proportional representation. The election law was changed in 2022 to use the Sainte-Laguë method.Gesetz zur Änderung des Landeswahlgesetzes vom 23. Mai 2022 (GVBl. S. 218) §1 Nr. 9 There is no state-wide proportional representation; regional seats are allocated within the seven administrative districts, which are referred to as "constituencies" (Wahlkreise) in the constitution.Artikel 14 (1) Bayerische Verfassung The regional seats are allocated in an open-list fashion, according to votes cast for candidates.
Only parties and electoral groups that win at least 5% of the total votes across Bavaria (sum of first and second votes, meaning party votes and local district contest votes) participate in the allocation of seats. The regional "constituencies" are divided into local "electoral districts" (Stimmkreise),Artikel 5 Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz in each of which one MP is directly elected by getting plurality in the first (only) round.Artikel 43 Bayerisches Landeswahlgesetz
The number of local "electoral districts" (91) is about equal to the number of seats in the regional "constituencies" (89). In addition, 23 seats may be allocated as levelling seats or to compensate for overhang.
Campaign
Free Voters In August 2023, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on a pamphlet with antisemitic contents that Hubert Aiwanger may have authored and distributed at his high school some 35 years ago as a 17-year-old. Aiwanger admitted to carrying copies in his satchel but denied writing the document. His older brother, a student at the same school at the time, later took responsibility for writing the antisemitic pamphlet itself. The Süddeutsche Zeitung drew some criticism for publishing the story six weeks before the election, without conclusive evidence and without talking to Aiwanger before publication. Bavarian premier Markus Söder demanded that Aiwanger answer 25 questions on the matter, including whether Aiwainger had actively distributed the antisemitic pamphlet. Aiwanger claimed multiple times to "not remember". Aiwanger's responses were heavily criticised as short and evasive.
In his response to a question about other incidents, Aiwanger shortly mentioned that he remembers an unrelated incident in the arts class and noted a caution against breach of secrecy.
Despite the story, Aiwanger's party, Free Voters, saw an increase in support in the polls.
AfD On 4 October 2023, Tino Chrupalla was at an election campaign appearance in Ingolstadt. Before his speech he collapsed and came to the intensive care unit of a local hospital. What exactly led to the hospitalisation is unclear.
Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 18th Landtag of Bavaria.
Name Leaders Ideology 2018 result 2023 Votes (%) Seats Seats CSU Christian Social Union in Bavaria Markus Söder Christian democracy 37.2% Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens Thomas von SarnowskiEva Lettenbauer Green politics 17.6% FW Free Voters of Bavaria Hubert Aiwanger Conservatism 11.6% AfD Alternative for Germany Stephan Protschka German nationalismRight-wing populism 10.2% SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany Florian von BrunnRonja Endres Social democracy 9.7% FDP Free Democratic Party Martin Hagen Classical liberalism 5.1% Independents - - -
Opinion polls
Graphical summary
Party polling